ABC Arts — Rebranding Australia’s biggest cultural institution

It has been said that we now receive the same amount of information in 72 hours that our parents received in one month. So how does content get traction in these times of overload?

Reinventing an old favourite

We were commissioned by ABC Arts to reposition and reinvent its narrative. ABC TV, by its inherent nature, is the place Australians go to for quality, curated cultural content. This has been proven with programs such as At the Movies and The Book Club. But its brand looked dull, tired and had little impact on potential new audiences. ABC Arts' brand strategy needed a contemporary overhaul and its online presence needed to be transformed from passive display and aggregation of information to an online curated collection guided by experts.

Considering competitive landscapes

We performed a thorough analysis of competition within the arts media space: who was out there, what they offered, their positioning. This gave us a breakdown of service offerings that showed clearly the areas in which ABC Arts could stand out and play to its strengths.

Bringing people on board

To accompany this external review we also conducted an internal review and interviewed stakeholders. These interviews had a dual purpose—to demarcate and document institutional structures, responsibilities and concerns and to begin building consensus. Our outsider status was our strength. We were able to ask questions that would be deemed impolite if asked by insiders. And we were able to build connections between departmental silos and use them to create overwhelming support for the project.

We used our findings to create a new identity and transformed the ABC Arts website to allow users to immerse themselves in the content, repositioning ABC Arts as the major online destination for creating, celebrating and showcasing contemporary, curated arts content. A collision between culture and life.

‘By bringing the latest design ideas and principals to this project, Boccalatte pushed ABC Arts online into uncharted territory, giving our audience unlimited access to our content for the first time. Boccalatte went over and above the job description. They are genuinely committed to contemporary culture, and because they believe in what they do, their vision and aesthetic complemented perfectly that of the new-look ABC Arts.’ Nicola Harvey, Editor, ABC Arts TV